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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

While reading a devotional on the signs of God’s love for
us, God reminded me of an interesting conversation I overheard during snack
time as I was subbing in our church’s preschool.

“What are you making?” four-year-old Scarlett asked her classmate
Hadley, pointing to the pretzel stick crosses Hadley was constructing from her snack.

“Crosses, like the one Jesus died on,” Hadley answered.

“Who is Jesus?” her friend asked with a puzzled look.

“Jesus is God’s Son. He loves us and died on the cross for
our sins.”

Thinking back to that interaction between two four-year-old pre-schoolers,
I realized, for Hadley, the cross is a sign of God’s love for her and for all
people. Simple pretzel sticks reminded her of that truth.

As I continued my devotional time, I looked around for signs
of God’s love.

I see my Bible. Next to salvation through Jesus, God’s
greatest expression of His love is found in His Word. Many of the pictures on
our walls share Scriptures, bearing witness to the fact of God’s love.

As the sun begins to shine on the barren trees out back, I
noticed drops of water clinging like diamonds to the branches. Out of His love,
God sent the rain that fell gently overnight—and the sunshine to brighten the
gloomy landscape.

Throughout the room are little “projects” and conveniences
Dick did just for me. His deep and abiding love constantly reminds me of how
much God loves me.

Gifts from my husband, children, extended family, and
friends bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart, reminding me that
sometimes God shows His love through the arms and lips of flesh and blood.

My furry companion, Watson, lives in blissful and complete
confidence that I will take care of him. His faith in my love for him is an
inspiration, urging me to enjoy that same, unfailing trust in God’s love for
me.

God really does love you and me—more that we can even
imagine—with no limits and no conditions. His Word says so and I have found it
to be true.

Psalm 136:26b God’s love is eternal.

Romans 5:8 God has shown us how much he loves us—it was
while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!

Romans 8:38-39 For I am certain that nothing can separate us
from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers
or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the
world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate
us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 2:20b This life that I live now, I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.

1 John 3:1 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is
so great that we are called God's children—and so, in fact, we are.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Lately, many of my blogging and writing friends seem to be
struggling to “keep on keeping on.” I am facing that battle, too. We wrack our
brains, week after week, to come up with “something to write about”. Many of us
bloggers have been plugging along for five, seven, or even ten years! It takes
a lot of effort and creativity to maintain a blog for that long. I admire those
who can post more than once a week. Sometimes I feel as though I barely finish
my woolgathering for my Wednesday post for this week and suddenly, here it is,
Tuesday evening again—and I got nothin’! I don’t want to fill my blog with mere
fluff or reposts. Oh no! What do I post?

Can you relate, my writer friends?

As I pondered this dilemma, I felt God nudging me to look
back over the pieces I keep in a folder called “Works in Progress”. In it I
found this poem I wrote as part of my blogging friend Arlee Bird’s 2011 A to Z Blogging
Challenge.

Writing is a calling, just like preaching is a calling. How
do we know we are called? In an interview,
John Piper, pastor and author said the following about the call to write, “It
is a recurrent, not temporary; long-term, not short-lived; compelling, not
merely interesting; benevolent, not selfish; Christ-exalting, not self-exalting
desire to write, which proves fruitful in the lives of others.” Therefore, we write.

Writing is a witness, a means of sharing what God has done
and is doing. Each and every one of us is called to share what God is doing. 1
Peter 2:9 says to the whole church, laity and clergy: "You are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Therefore, we
write.

Writing is a service, a way for us to serve God and our
fellow inhabitants of this Earth. The world is hungry for love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. —and we know the
Source that can meet those needs! (Galatians 5:22-23) Jesus commanded us to go
and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, we write.

When we step back and take a good look at our reasons for
writing, the words begin to flow again. Inspiration seeps in from unlikely, unexpected
places and we know the Source of our writing is nudging us to flip open our
computers and post again.

Praying for each one of you as you navigate this holy
calling to write for Jesus. Please continue to put your words out there for all
of us to read and be drawn closer to God. Your words spark our faith, light
fires of both comfort and courage, and fuel the hearts of your readers.

Be encouraged!

Pam

I have
written a book of devotions specifically for writers, designed to inspire and
re-kindle our ministry of writing. It is available from Crosslink by clicking
on the icon to the right.

We awoke to nearly seven inches of snow this morning! Everything
is wearing a glistening white blanket. A snowy mantle covers the limbs of the
trees, and their branches are adorned with cotton-like snowballs, transforming the
drab and dreary winter landscape into a bright, glittering world.

School, church, and social events were cancelled. Facebook
friends are sharing pictures from their back yards and comments are flying back
and forth. Everyone seems to be talking about the snow.

In Isaiah 1:18, God talks about snow. He promises to take
our depraved souls and make them as pure as new-fallen snow. How? God will
forgive us for the wrongs we have done because Jesus took the punishment for
our sins when He died on the cross. His sacrifice not only paid the price for
our forgiveness, it cleanses our sin-stained souls to snow white.

The beautiful, pure-white snow has covered our area so that
I can no longer see the dead flowers, brown grass, and leafless branches. Likewise,
when trust in Jesus as the One who saved us from our sin, His forgiveness
covers us. God no longer sees our failures and flaws. Instead He sees a beautiful
heart, purified and ready to serve.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Beading, beading, and more beading! As a way for me to fill
winter’s hours, Dick bought me a bracelet beading kit for Christmas one year. Over
the next month and a half, I made over 50 bracelets.

What I found most
addicting about this hobby was the creative development. I loved gazing over my
box of beads and cords and allowing ideas for patterns, color combinations, and
braiding styles to percolate in my mind. The process brought a happy smile to
my face. I experience even greater joy when I see someone wearing one of my
bracelets!

Crafting bracelets has given me a tiny glimpse of the wonder
and joy God must feel as He creates us. He shapes and forms us before we are
born. (Psalm 139:13) He instills the traits, quirks and aptitudes that make me,
me and you, you. Every person is unique—no two people look exactly alike, no two people share the exact same personality, no two people possess the exact same gifts, talents, and
abilities.

Revelations 4:11 tells us “God has created all things, and
for His pleasure they are and were created.” Ephesians 2:10 says, we are God’s
masterpiece; He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.

God made you; God made me. We were created for His pleasure.
The best way for us to bring God the most pleasure is to seek to do the good He
planned for us to do.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

It looked like such fun as I seated myself on the sled at
the top of the snowy hill. Fun quickly turned to fear as I careened down the
steep grade, hanging on “for dear life” to the grips on the sides of the
saucer. With nothing but a thin layer of plastic between me and the packed
snow, my body jarred with every bump and hump along the slippery slope. I tried
to control my descent by leaning first one direction and then the other, but only
managed to make the ride more terrifying. As I approached the bottom, screaming
at the top of my voice, the ground leveled off and the saucer gradually slowed.
I rolled off, gasping my gratitude to be alive, panting with adrenaline and
exertion.

Sometimes life can feel like that sled ride. As we stand at
the precipice of a new year, many of us are thinking about the future. What
will these 365 days hold? Some of us lean forward with anticipation; others hold
back with dread.

We try our best to keep control of all the different aspects
of our lives—finances, relationships, health—but some days we feel as out of
control as I did that wintry afternoon, hurtling down the steep hill on a
flimsy saucer.

But we don’t have to feel that way. Proverbs 16:9 says we
make our plans but God directs our lives. When we submit to God, and truly
believe that He is in control, we have the freedom to let go of our fears,
anxieties, dread, and desperate need to be in charge. Someone Else is leading
the way. Someone Else is responsible. And that powerful and loving Someone has
a plan—a plan for peace and not disaster, plans to give us a future filled with
hope. (Jeremiah 29: 11)

As we enter 2018, I pray that we can fully trust in God’s perfect
plan for us. I pray that the Holy Spirit would enable us to sit back and enjoy
the ride. And at the end, may we roll off with a loud “Whew! Thank you, Jesus!”
as laughter bubbles up and spills out for all the world to see how great is our
God!